A Bit o' History

Sam reminded me about Cornish pastys, which I TOTALLY FORGOT on my list of things what make me happy. Helas. Thanks Sam. Yes, definitely, especially the mint and lamb ones from the place in Covent Garden. (Yes Laura, I love lamb. I love to eat baby sheep. Mm...baby sheep...)

Things are going much better today. I had a very successful meeting with the "Hedwig" group--we're putting the show on, and I'm in charge of ripping the script apart and making it more theatrical--and the sun is out, which is nice. This afternoon is given over to research, so I thought I'd fill you in on some fun and interesting things about Britain.

So tomorrow night is bonfire night. Bonfire night is the celebration of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, which was a group of Catholic dissenters trying to blow up Parliament in 1605. You may notice that this is the 400th Anniversary of this plot, which means that this year's celebrations are sure to get out of hand. It's kind of like the 4th of July with fireworks and food, and then huge bonfires in the local parks. I'll be heading to Blackheath, which is close to Greenwich, to see the fun.

Fun fact: If you watch "Bridget Jones's Diary" the fire station that Bridget goes to is in Lewisham. I don't know if that's the actual firehouse, or if they in fact have a brass pole, but it's kind of cool.

So, apparently 2005 is a good year to be in London: the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the 100th anniversary of Sir Henry Irving's death. (Irving was an actor. There's a statue of him outside the National Portrait Gallery.) Glad I waited a year. ;)

Next Tuesday I'll be flying off to Glasgow, Scotland for a "holiday." I'm going to try and get all my work done so I can spend the time ENJOYING MYSELF and getting my history on. I'm hoping to take a day trip up to the Isle of Skye where Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to after he unsuccessfully tried to invade England and take the throne back from William and Mary. That was in the early 1700's--the next king was George I. I also want to go north of the city to Stirling and the area around there. This would be the highlands and also the area where William Wallace and his army fought off the English. (those rascally English) See: Braveheart. I'm dying for a bit of countryside after being surrounded by city city city for the past five weeks. There's lots of history here, but the only grass I've seen recently was the bit outside the National Museum, which was also covered in pigons. ("rats! rats with wings!")

I do have two writing projects due in two weeks, for those of you who think all I do is lounge around museums all day, so I'm trying to get all that done in the few days before Tuesday. That's one of the reasons I'm not already gone--that and it is expensive. Although I managed to find a tikkie on EasyJet for cheaper than it would have been to train. I would rather have trained it though. I like trains. They're all historical. And you get a better view of the sheep. (mmm....sheep...)